Forgot to Remember
by False Euphoria
Summary: It's been four years since Chihiro and Haku's seen each other. Chihiro starts to forget, but an unknown force beckons her to come back into the Spirit World, and she remembers everything. She comes back, only to find that Haku is in mortal danger.
1. Begins Again

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in _Spirited Away._ If I said I did, Mr Hayao Miyazaki would sue me. That is all.

It has been four years since Ogino Chihiro has left the Spirit World. Four years since the Kohaku River gave Chihiro his promise that they will meet each other again. It has also been four years since Haku and Chihiro has last seen each other, although neither of them forgot about Haku's promise.

It was about midnight when Ogino Chihiro was found, snoozing underneath her fluffy blue comforter. The night was silent, and stars sparkled like thousands of diamonds contrasting with a jet-black sky. No living thing noticed a serpent-like creature gracefully, its scales glimmering against the moonlight, flying majestically through the air. Chihiro sighed in her sleep and wrapped her arms around a stuffed animal. Silence dominated the night once again.

It was a Saturday morning when Chihiro woke up at 8 a.m. She got out of bed groggily and routinely put up her hair in a ponytail using a sparkling purple hair tie. She smiled as she thought of her friends from the Spirit World who spun the hair tie for her. She quickly dressed into a shirt and jeans, and went to wash her face. She had an unexplainable urge to go and walk around outside, so she quickly grabbed an apple, scribbled a note to her still-asleep parents, and headed outside.

Since it was summer, the Sun was already up. The heat was quickly rising as Chihiro started walking around. She was reminiscing about her time in the Spirit World for about half an hour until she noticed that she was somehow led into an unpaved road. There was some sort of an odd sense of familiarity about this certain road, so she decided to follow it. She kept walking for about twenty more minutes, until she stopped in front of a rounded, grinning statue. She looked a bit farther in the distance to see a tunnel. Memories were slowly flooding back into Chihiro's head as she quickened her pace. She broke into a run halfway into the tunnel until she reached the end. Right when she got out of the dark, almost endless tunnel, she had to adjust to the sweeping blue skies and grass that she had gone out to. Her memories had all flooded back into her head, and she remembered where she was now. Tears slowly filled her eyes as she remembered someone's name. Someone very important to her.

"Haku," she whispered.

~*~Well! You like? It's my first Spirited Away fic ever! I had just seen Spirited Away for the first time (and second, and third), and absolutely loved it! The plot will move along soon enough, as this first chapter is just sort of a test. Reviews will be highly appreciated! Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames aren't! 

=^_^=


	2. Discovery

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in _Spirited Away._ If I said I did, Mr Hayao Miyazaki would sue me. That is all.

Chihiro stood as still as a statue, for she was frozen in place. Never, in the past four years, had she ever thought of coming back to the Spirit World. She fixed her gaze on the green field stretched as far as the eye can see. She started walking again, and kept right on, until she reached an area of what seemed to be a river without much water. She climbed on top of the many rocks and reached the other side, where she continued on to the small city that led into Yubaba's bathhouse.

***

Through the many round-shaped trees, and finally up in the light-blue sky, a dragon flew. It looked as if it were in a hurry, with its wild green eyes set in a determined way.  Its lithe, serpent-like body sliced through the air, leaving no trail behind. From far away, the dragon Haku was a dazzling sight. No one would ever think that he was hurt, but he was bleeding, both from the inside and out. He suddenly started slowing down, as the pain got the best of him, and lost momentum. In no time, Haku was plummeting a hundred feet into the ground.

***

Yubaba's bathhouse looked exactly as it did four years ago, when Chihiro got lost in the Spirit World and briefly became Sen. Sen, whose parents were turned into pigs because they ate too much of the Spirits' food. Sen, who had to work as a servant in the bathhouse so Yubaba won't turn her into a pig as well. Sen, who broke a deadly curse that nearly killed the one that she most loved. There was no Ogino Chihiro in the Spirit World. There was only Sen.

It was still light out, but the sun was ever so slowly setting. The horizon was slowly turning a shade of orange, with the sun a fiery ball. Chihiro walked across the decorated wooden bridge, noticing that steam was coming out of the pipes of the Aburaya. The paper lanterns were slowly being lit, and Chihiro looked on as one of the sliding doors opened, and a slug woman appeared, preparing for the Spirits soon to arrive. . .

***

The river spirit Haku slowly turned back into his human form, revealing various wounds and bruises. He was crumpled in an unconscious heap, bleeding and in serious pain. He was on his way to the sorceress Zeniba's house, when, while underwater, he was attacked by water demons called Kappas. They bit and clawed through his dragon hide before he managed to break free and swim out of the water, to fly as fast as he could to Zeniba. He had made it very far, but he was still in the forest, where help is hard to find.

***

The slug woman's face contorted in disgust, as if she had a bad smell to her nose. She looked around and finally spotted Chihiro. The slug woman jumped in alarm, startling Chihiro. The slug woman quickly ran back inside the Aburaya, screaming.

"A human! A human! There is a human outside the bath house!" The slug woman was shrieking. The sun was almost completely down, and chaos was quickly beginning to form. Frog men and slug women were running about frantically, screaming, "A human, a human!". Amid all the pandemonium, a woman of about twenty poked her head outside one of the doors, looking for the human. She finally spotted Chihiro and beamed in surprise.

"Sen! Sen! You came back! Oh, I knew you'd come back!" the woman ran out and hugged Chihiro as tightly as she could. Chihiro remembered her from when she was ten years old.

"Rin!" she said, hugging the woman back. Before she knew it, Chihiro was grinning, feeling happier than she'd ever had in the past four years, ever since she left the Spirit World. She had missed all her friends here, like Rin, Kamaji, Boh, No Face, Zeniba, and most importantly-

"Where's Haku?" Chihiro asked Rin after she had finally calmed down. Rin gave her a small smile as she led Chihiro to the Boiler Room, so Kamaji can see her.

"Well," Rin started as the two walked down the many stairs that led to the Boiler Room. "From what I've heard, Haku had finally broken his contract from Yubaba," she said.

"Finally? But, he found out his real name four years ago! Why did it take him that long to break free from Yubaba?" Chihiro asked, a confused look on  her face. Rin shrugged as she pushed the door open to the Boiler Room.

"Kamaji! Kamaji, guess who's here!" Rin hollered as the two went inside. The many-limbed man was busy ordering little round balls of soot around, while drinking from his tea-kettle. Rin and Chihiro stepped inside the Boiler Room, and Kamaji stopped abruptly when he saw Chihiro.

"Sen? Is that really you?" Kamaji's face wore a look of surprise, which soon turned into a wide grin. "Sen! It's great to have you back!" Kamaji's many arms extended and pulled Chihiro into a great hug. He finally let go of her, while she gasped for air.

"So," he said. "What brings you back, dear Sen?" he asked. Chihiro noticed that the balls of soot were watching them while carrying lumps of coal into the massive boiler.

"My world is lonely. I don't have such good friends, unlike here," a sad look crossed Chihiro's face as she remembered her world. The Human World, where no one understood her at all. There was no one to share her unique experiences in the Spirit World; everyone she told about it thought she was nuts. Her parents were just as bad, as they always forced her to do nothing but schoolwork. She hated schoolwork, as it was boring and routine. She needed to get away.

Kamaji nodded, meaning that he understood. He wasn't finished. "I bet that's not all, is it, Sen?" he asked. He could see that something else was troubling her. "You're wondering where Haku is." This wasn't a question, but Chihiro nodded.

"Do you know where he is?" she asked. Kamaji nodded, as two bath tokens dropped from above. Kamaji cursed as Chihiro waited for him to finish taking care of the tokens.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know where he is. . . Or rather, where he _should_ be," he said. Chihiro was silent. Kamaji continued. "He told me that he had finally broken his contract with Yubaba, and that he would be on his way to Zeniba, to ask her for help to keep a certain promise. Do you know, by any chance, what promise he was talking about?" Kamaji asked, peering through his sunglasses.

Chihiro thought for a moment, and then it came to her. Of course! "Yes, I know what he was talking about," she said. "He promised me that we would see each other again."

Kamaji nodded. "Hmm. I'm betting that Haku probably wanted to ask Zeniba for help to see you. Sounds like something he would do, that boy." Kamaji shook his head and muttered something that Chihiro couldn't understand. Rin, who was sitting on the floor for all this time, heard what he muttered and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Chihiro asked, giving both Rin and Kamaji odd looks. They both shook their heads as if they were saying "never mind". Chihiro scowled, and Kamaji started talking again.

"I'm a bit worried, though. Haku left a couple of days ago, and it takes only a few hours to get to Zeniba's house. He said that he'd send a message to me, saying that he got there safely. I'm worried that he may have gotten himself into danger," Kamaji said, his eyebrows knitted together. Chihiro looked downright dismayed, as Rin realized the time.

"It's so late! Sen! You must come with me to the sleeping quarters! I'm sure you're tired by now, with all that walking. I'm sure you'll hear from Haku soon. Come on," Rin took Chihiro's arm and dragged her to the sleeping quarters, where she soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep. . . 

***

Haku's jade eyes suddenly flew open, realizing that he took a nasty fall. He tried to get up, but failed miserably. One word escaped from his lips as he fainted yet again.

"Chihiro."

~*~ Yippee! New chapter! Thank you so much for the kind reviews! I know that the first chapter was very short, because it was sort of a test, seeing how many people would bother to read my writing. The plot thickens, as Chihiro and Haku's meeting draws near. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames aren't. Again, thanks to everyone that reviews! =^_^=


	3. A Plan

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in _Spirited Away._ If I said I did, Mr Hayao Miyazaki would sue me. That is all.

Chihiro awoke with the sun beating against her tired face. She got up from her sleeping mat, only to notice that everyone she had been sleeping with had already gone to work. Including Rin. She scrounged around for her socks and shoes and made her way down to the boiler room (no screaming and running this time) so she could stay with Kamaji for the day.

Kamaji was already hard at work when Chihiro got there. Three bath tokens hung in front of his face as the little soot-sprites carried heavy lumps of coal into the large, steaming boiler. Chihiro plopped down against a wall, waiting for Kamaji to finish. She didn't notice him staring at her moments later.

"You're worried." Kamaji startled Chihiro. She nodded and stared at the floor. Kamaji grunted. "Usually, I'd say that you shouldn't worry too much about Haku, but to tell you the truth, this doesn't feel right," Kamaji said.

"Kamaji, what if he's hurt?" Chihiro whispered. There was a desperate look in her eyes, as if the last thing she'd want to see before she died was Haku. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Hmm… I'm sure we can send a messenger to Zeniba somehow," Kamaji said thoughtfully, scratching his bearded chin. Chihiro stayed silent, pondering.

"I could visit her myself!" she exclaimed, an idea forming in her head.

"But how will you ever get there? I haven't got any more tickets to spare; you'd have to buy them yourself. Besides, you'd be crazy to walk to Zeniba's house. It'll be farther than you remember," Kamaji said, peering through his sunglasses. Two bath tokens dropped from above and Kamaji ordered the soot-sprites to get working again.

"I could work for Yubaba in exchange for tickets or money to buy some," Chihiro spoke as Kamaji was busy mixing herbs. She watched soot-sprite after soot-sprite carry lumps of coal into the boiler. Finally, Kamaji was finished with the bath tokens.

"Well, I suppose you can do that," Kamaji said. "How about we wait for Rin and see what she thinks about this, all right?" he said. Chihiro nodded and sat back down at her place against the wall.

"Lunchtime!" Rin called out as she emerged from the small sliding door leading into the bathhouse. She threw a basketful of star-shaped candies over the soot-sprites and carried bowls of rice to Chihiro and Kamaji.

"I knew I'd find you here," Rin said to Chihiro as she handed her a pair of chopsticks. Chihiro ate slowly, as she didn't have much of an appetite. Rin settled down next to her and ate her own bowl of rice. After they had all finished eating and Rin collected the bowls, Chihiro told them about her plan.

"I'm going to ask Yubaba for some work so I can get train tickets. I can use them to get to Zeniba's house, so I can find out if Haku's there or not. If he isn't, I'll ask her to help me find him," Chihiro explained briefly. Kamaji and Rin nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that's the best way of finding out," Kamaji said. "Rin, take her to Yubaba. You'd better take her now, so she can start immediately," he said. Rin was having some doubts. 

"What if Yubaba refuses her and turns her into a pig?" she asked, worried. Chihiro smiled slightly.

"Don't worry. A friend of mine will be able to help if Yubaba disagrees," she said reassuringly. Rin shrugged and stood up. Soon, both her and Chihiro made their way to Yubaba's part of the bathhouse. 

"I'll leave you here," Rin said as the two of them were in front of the last elevator. Chihiro stepped out, and as the door was closing, Rin called out, "Good luck!"

Yubaba's part of the bathhouse was the same as Chihiro remembered it, except many parts of it were cluttered with enormous toys almost as big as Chihiro herself. She walked until she was in front of the front doors, pausing to grasp the brass knocking- handle to knock. A face engraved on the knocker came to life and began to talk.

"Oh, it's you. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Come in," Yubaba's voice spoke through the brass face's mouth. The doors opened and Chihiro was once again pulled in by what seemed like strong, invisible hands. Instead of landing on her face, she was dropped onto a squishy chair. Yubaba was seated in her usual chair, behind the same old table from 4 years ago, tottering with jewels and gold. The Kashika* were bouncing about as usual making their grunting noises.

"So, what do you want?" Yubaba said to Chihiro while looking over some sheets of paper. She peered over her many piles of books to have a closer look at Chihiro. "You've grown quite a lot. How long was it since you've been here? Three years?" Yubaba said.

"Four years," Chihiro answered. "I was wondering if you could give me a small job. To earn a bit of money," she said. Yubaba looked taken aback. 

"A job? What do you want a job here for, little girl?" Yubaba said, getting on her feet. She walked to where Chihiro sat and looked at her closely. Chihiro stood up and faced her.

"I need train tickets," she said. "To find someone."

Yubaba laughed loudly and it echoed through the vast room. This caught the Kashika* off guard and they stopped bouncing and grunting for a moment.

"I should've known," Yubaba said after she wiped off tears that were beginning to form from her eyes from laughter. "You want to look for that precious boyfriend of yours, don't you?" Yubaba said, almost reading Chihiro's mind. Chihiro blushed a bit from hearing Haku referred to as her "boyfriend" but kept her guard.

"Haku is not my boyfriend," she said after Yubaba had finally stopped laughing. "I feel that he's in danger and I want to look for him, that's all!" she exclaimed. Yubaba raised an eyebrow.

"So you want to play hero now, eh, little girl?" Yubaba said, sneering. "But that still doesn't give me a good reason to give you a job in my bathhouse. We honestly don't need any humans stinking up the place," she said.

"But-" Chihiro was interrupted by a loud _boom_. Soon, the ground was shaking, and Chihiro felt like thought was an earthquake happening. An enormous, fat figure of a giant four year old proved her wrong. 

"Sen! Sen, you're back!" Bou, Yubaba's giant baby, emerged from a curtained room, and upon hearing Chihiro's voice, rushed out to hug her tightly. Chihiro's air was cut off and she struggled to breathe, until finally Bou let go.

"Hi, Bou. How are you?" Chihiro greeted after she finally took a nice, deep breath. Bou beamed at her.

"You remember! I'm doing well! Mama taught me how to write my name, see?" he thrust a piece of paper into Chihiro's face with his name scrawled on it. Chihiro smiled and patted Bou's enormous hand.

"That's great, Bou," she said. She noticed Yubaba standing with her arms folded in front of her, waiting patiently.

"Are you quite finished yet?" she said. Chihiro nodded. "Good. Now, you still haven't given me a good reason why I should let you work," Yubaba said. Bou's ears perked up.

"Mama! Why won't you give Sen work?" Bou whined. A small smile played across Chihiro's face. Her plan was going along well.

"Sweetie, you know that my employees need to have a good reason to work in our bathhouse, or else we'd be ruined!" Yubaba said. Bou scrunched up his round face.

"If you don't give my friend work, I won't let you play with me anymore," Bou said, eyeing his mother. Yubaba sighed and gave up. She knew there really was no point in arguing with her large, spoiled child. She turned to Chihiro.

"All right, Chihiro. I will give you work for three days, enough to buy yourself a train ticket. After that, don't expect any more nice favours from me, understand?" Yubaba said. Chihiro nodded, then paused.

"Wait, don't I have to sign a contract?" she asked. Yubaba shook her head no.

"Contracts are completely unnecessary if you're only going to be working three days," Yubaba said. "Besides, you don't have anyone to remind you of your name this time now, do you?" she said. Yubaba took a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. "Go find Rin and give this to her. She'll set you up with a job," and with that, Yubaba waved her hand and led Bou into his playroom. Chihiro bowed and made her way to find Rin. In no time, she can finally see her Haku.

***

Haku still lay in his bleeding, crumpled state. His straight, dark-blue hair lay matted across his forehead as blood seeped through his blue and white garments. Wounds and bruises covered his body as he lay, facedown on the cold, hard ground as the moonlight shone upon him. He was in immense pain, both physically and emotionally. He was hurting physically because of his injuries, while his heart ailed for his Chihiro. Haku was dying, both inside and out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Kashika – strange, green heads bobbing around in Yubaba's office.

W00t! Sorry if it took me a while to get this chapter up! I was a bit busy, with Internet stuff and such… Well, the story's getting better, right? *shifty eyes* Come on, Chihiro can't just magically pop up next to Haku just like that! Explanation is needed! Who said they were going to meet anyway? XD Well, hope you enjoyed this, and please R&R!

Much Thanks,

False Euphoria a.k.a. Lucky Thirteen


End file.
